The Slab Party – Silver Anniversary!

    I can hardly believe that in a few short weeks we will have lived in our home for 25 years.  We decided to build our “dream home” or retirement home when Jay received his final military assignment and returned to San Antonio, Texas in 1986.  We love San Antonio and decided to build our retirement home at that time, rather than wait until we actually retired in our 50s or 60s.  Who knew what would happen before we reached that age and why not enjoy life while we could?

    A local real estate agent, the father of a former co-worker in Falls Church, VA was contacted.  On several weekends, we met with the agent and he drove us around the outskirts of San Antonio, more in the “country” looking at properties where we could build.  The first property that we looked at was the one that we eventually purchased.  Isn’t that just like a woman?  You need to buy a dress - you search the mall and find the perfect dress, but you go to six more stores and try on numerous dresses, only to go back and buy the first one you tried on?  That’s exactly what we did.

    Throughout the entire building process, from clearing the property, to the house-warming party, we snapped hundreds of photos.  While reviewing some of the photos from the house album, I came across several of the “slab” or foundation photos and it reminded me of our “slab” party.  What a fun time we had!

    We decided that since the weather was still cooperative, the slab was smooth and flat, perfect for lawn chairs, card tables and chairs, we would hold a slab party.   We had never heard of one before, so we created one.  Inviting friends from work, and friends we had met here or knew from living here before we were assigned to Germany, everyone was asked to bring their favorite dish.  Some folks brought chips and dips, potato salad, pickles, olives, and all sorts of desserts.  Several of the guests brought portable gas grills, so we had toasted rolls with hamburgers and hot dogs and all of the condiments.  Because we had electrical power, one of our friends brought a portable CD/radio, so we played music as loud as we wanted, as there was no one to hear it but us!  A few deer or a fox or two may have been disturbed, but they were probably more upset that we disturbed their path across the property. 

    The highlight of the party was our time capsule.  Each guest was asked to bring an item that reflected something of the day.  Remember, this was November 1987, before PCs, iPhones, iPads, etc.  The items were often humorous and the guest had to explain why it should be included in the time capsule.  Some of the items included: a church key (bottle opener); light bulb; razorblade; newspaper of the day; Playgirl magazine with Burt Reynolds (centerfold); a floppy disk; a credit card for a now closed video store; wooden clothespin; and an AAA battery.  There were many more items that I can’t recall now, but we also included an empty bottle of champagne from the “slab” toast.   And there were many more bottles of champagne, but we only needed one for the time capsule. 

    I wrote a letter “To Whomever Finds This Time Capsule” and placed it in the time capsule so that the contents of the capsule could be explained and why the items were hidden and when. 

     I asked one of the plumbers to stash the time capsule behind my sunken tub in the master bath.  No one would ever find it unless there was a leakage problem or the next owner remodeled the bathroom.  The plumber took the capsule with some trepidation and agreed to put it behind the tub wall that day.

    However, when my husband returned that evening, he was surprised that the plumber returned the capsule to him stating that “your wife may be having an affair”.  Jay was shocked and couldn’t understand why the plumber would think that.  He handed the capsule to Jay and said, “She asked me to bury this behind the tub wall where no one would find it.  I thought you should know.”  (Remember, it contained an empty champagne bottle among other things)!  Jay laughed and said, “No, it’s perfectly fine.  We had a party and this was our time capsule to be buried somewhere in the house.  My wife isn’t having an affair.  We just wanted to hide these items for posterity.”  The plumber still looked at Jay a bit skeptically.  Of course that meant we had to find another location to hide the time capsule…..

    We did find an alternate location, but didn’t ask anyone to hide it for us this time.  It’s still hidden and probably will be until we leave this house.  Jay also “marked” our slab with the words “Jay and Karen Johnson, November 18, 1987” on the garage portion of the slab.  It’s nice to see the inscription, time and time again, as we enter the garage to think about the fun slab party and then the funny mix-up with the time capsule.  Whoever finds the capsule and the letter of explanation are certainly going to enjoy uncovering some antique items and have a good laugh!